Quotes about doing page 57
“Do the people in Australia call the rest of the world 'Up Over'?”
Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author
“And what would you do if you met a jibboo?”
Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
Source: Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!
“Aimee-"If someone's possessed by a demon, how do you get the demon out?"
Xedrix-"Call a priest.”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist
Source: Bad Moon Rising
“Tell me, warrior, how soon can we do this again?”
Maya Banks (1964) Author
Source: Seduction of a Highland Lass
Neil Postman (1931–2003) American writer and academic
Source: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
“I said "Somebody should do something about that." Then I realized I am somebody.”
Lily Tomlin (1939) American actress, comedian, writer, and producer
“Only when I fall do I get up again.”
Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)
“All we can do, child, is follow our destiny.”
Rick Riordan book The Lightning Thief
Source: The Lightning Thief
“I don't damsel well. Distress, I can do. Damseling? Not so much.”
James Patterson (1947) American author
Source: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports
“Oh, Claire, ye do break my heart wi' loving you.”
Diana Gabaldon book Dragonfly in Amber
Source: Dragonfly in Amber
P.G. Wodehouse (1881–1975) English author
The Man Upstairs (1914)
Source: The Man Upstairs and Other Stories
Stephen R. Covey book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
Source: The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People (1989), p. 12
Source: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
“Even castles in the sky can do with a fresh coat of paint.”
Haruki Murakami book South of the Border, West of the Sun
Source: South of the Border, West of the Sun
“If you find it hard to laugh at yourself, I would be happy to do it for you.”
Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian
“If you could pack for heaven, this was how you'd do it, touching everything, taking nothing.”
Mitch Albom (1958) American author
Source: Have a Little Faith: a True Story
Lisi Harrison (1970) Canadian writer
Source: Revenge of the Wannabes
“I do not use profanity in my novels. My characters all go to church.”
Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist
Mary Balogh (1944) Welsh-Canadian novelist
Source: The Devil's Web
“There is no human problem which could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.”
Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer
“Lord, please do this… or do something better!”
Priscilla Shirer (1974) American writer
Source: God is Able
John Adams (1735–1826) 2nd President of the United States
Source: The Letters of John and Abigail Adams
L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Source: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Context: "All the same," said the Scarecrow, "I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one."
"I shall take the heart," returned the Tin Woodman; "for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."
“But writing poems and letters doesn't seem to do much good.”
Sylvia Plath (1932–1963) American poet, novelist and short story writer
Source: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist
Source: Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
“Sometimes you have to do things when sad things happen.”
Mitch Albom book The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Source: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
“The only thing you can do easily is be wrong, and that's hardly worth the effort.”
Norton Juster book The Phantom Tollbooth
Source: The Phantom Tollbooth
Jonathan Safran Foer book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Source: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005), p. 43
Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner
Variant: When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.
Source: The Kite Runner (2003)
Context: There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft.... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.
Anne Bishop (1955) American fiction writer
Source: Queen of the Darkness
“Ah, Fist, it’s the curse of history that those who should read them, never do.”
Steven Erikson book Deadhouse Gates
Source: Deadhouse Gates
Brennan Manning (1934–2013) writer, American Roman Catholic priest and United States Marine
Mark Haddon book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Source: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
“If one's friends do not openly laugh at him, they are not in fact his friends.”
Dean Koontz book Forever Odd
Source: Forever Odd (2005), Chapter 11; Odd Thomas's recounting of a conversation with Little Ozzie
Context: "Sometimes," I said, "it seems to me that a friend might not take such pleasure in making fun of me as you do."
"Dear Odd! If one's friends do not openly laugh at him, they are not, in fact, his friends. How else would one learn to avoid saying those things that would elicit laughter from strangers? The mockery of friends is affectionate, and inoculates against foolishness."
“Use memories. Do not let memories use you.”
Deepak Chopra (1946) Indian-American physician, public speaker and writer
“There is no thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”
Audre Lorde (1934–1992) writer and activist
“Since when do you have to tell the enemy when he has won”
Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game
Source: Ender's Game
“Agree with everything, explain nothing, then do what is best for you.”
Sherry Argov (1977) American writer
Source: Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl—A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship
Knut Hamsun (1859–1952) Norwegian novelist and Nobel Prize recipient
Source: Pan: From Lieutenant Thomas Glahn's Papers
Perry Moore (1971–2011) Executive producer of the Narnia films and author of award-winning LGBTQ young adult novel Hero
Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged
Variant: Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.
Source: Atlas Shrugged
“Still, it doesn't do to murder people, no matter how offensive they may be.”
Dorothy L. Sayers book Five Red Herrings
Source: Five Red Herrings
“Do you shovel to survive, or survive to shovel?”
Kóbó Abe book The Woman in the Dunes
Source: The Woman in the Dunes
“Art? You just do it. MARTIN RITT”
Julia Cameron book The Artist's Way
The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist
Source: Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995: An Exhibition Catalogue
“Respect only has meaning as respect for those with whom I do not agree.”
Karen Armstrong book A History of God
A History of God (1993)
Source: A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
“Who do I look like, Nancy freaking Drew?”
Laurie Faria Stolarz (1972) American writer
Nicholas Sparks book True Believer
Jeremy Marsh, Chapter 7, p. 113
Variant: I think it happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. And so you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on. It's perfectly normal.
Source: 2000s, True Believer (2005)
“The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished.”
Nelson DeMille (1943) American writer
Variant: The problem with doing nothing is that you never know when you're finished.